MAY 1, 2025 — On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two consolidated cases from Oklahoma which starkly present the clash between the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and its Establishment Clause. The first Clause says that the government can’t penalize or interfere with the free exercise of religion; the second says that […]
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As early as this summer, two Supreme Court rulings could effectively eviscerate The Establishment Clause, which forbids governments from supporting religion or favoring one religion over another, or religion over non-religion — a potentially monumental pivot point for church schools. Church Executive has profiled several Supreme Court cases during the last few years where church […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh With a combined 25 years of experience working with Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) and its church clients, Risk Management Vice President Andrew Shockey and Underwriting Human Services Product Manager Michael Nester know background checks. First and foremost, they know that not enough houses of worship are conducting them — and why. […]
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By Denise Craig, CAE, CCA Back in April 2024, the US Department of Labor published a rule requiring all employers (including churches) to increase the minimum salary threshold for exempt workers in both July 2024 and January 2025, with regularly scheduled increases after that. However, in mid-November 2024, after the first increase had occurred and […]
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To protect your church, you must anticipate — and mitigate — risk transfer related to third-party facilities use By RaeAnn Slaybaugh For many churches, offering the use of their facilities to outside groups is an excellent source of income. It’s also a great way to send a welcoming message to the surrounding community. However, […]
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Church Executive: Just how big of an issue is employee theft in churches, really? Mike Nester: I wouldn’t say it’s one of the larger issues that our churches are dealing with, but it’s one of the easiest to work on. That said, we do see losses; we’ve had more than $1 million in claims […]
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By Rev. James Cook, CFP®, RICP® Becoming a homeowner is an important financial goal for many people and is viewed as a significant “step up the financial ladder.” But if you have never purchased a home before, the decisions and process can seem daunting. In this article, we will give a general overview of […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh They say change is hard — but sometimes, it’s worth it. Such is the case at Immanuel Baptist Church, where leaders are discovering the benefits of outsourcing their accounting services: better oversight, increased efficiency, more transparency/accessibility, and cost savings. It was even instrumental in recovering nearly $200,000 in “lost” online gifts […]
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Churches desiring to employ an audit with respect to their financial operations may opt for various approaches depending on their size, scope, and complexity. By Mike Batts, CPA Audits are conducted by parties who are either external or internal to the church. Smaller churches use internal accountability processes typically performed by members of the churches’ […]
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By Eric Spacek April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, making this a perfect time to review your organization’s policies and practices to protect children from sexual assault. With this in mind, we spoke with Eric Spacek, assistant vice president – Risk Control at Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I.1, who outlines how organizations can help […]
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